Morton, Altuve lead Astros over Mariners 9-2  —  SEATTLE (AP) — Charlie Morton pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Jose Altuve had a three-run double and the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 9-2 on Thursday after Evan Gattis hit into a bizarre 5-4-3 triple play in the fourth inning.

Pitcher goes from working at Miller Brewery to facing the Brewers  —  When the Florida Marlins take the field Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers, the man who will take the mound is the same guy who, 15 months ago, was selling trinkets in the MillerCoors gift shop two miles away.

5 astonishing facts from the Red Sox' historic 16-2 start  —  The red-hot Boston Red Sox, who own a MLB-best 16-2 record, are off to a historic start.  —  Their record after 18 games is the best in franchise history and they are the first team to win 16 of its first 18 games since the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers started 17-1.

Mets' Matt Harvey bristles over job security question: 'I'm a starting pitcher'  —  ATLANTA — Five years ago Thursday, Matt Harvey had the Citi Field faithful chanting “Harvey's better” as the young right-hander outdueled Washington's Stephen Strasburg.  —  Harvey is no longer that caliber of pitcher …

Greinke, D-backs beat Giants 3-1 to win 6th straight series  —  PHOENIX — A 10-inning loss on Wednesday night stung the Arizona Diamondbacks.  They let too many opportunities slip away and put their run of series victories in jeopardy.  —  A dominant performance by Zack Greinke and clutch hitting kept the streak going.

Jake Arrieta strikes out 10, allows 1 hit in 7 innings to move to 2-0  —  Jake Arrieta flashed the All-Star form that made Philadelphia covet the free-agent ace, striking out 10 and tossing one-hit ball over seven innings to lead the Phillies to a 7-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night.

Link between Alex Rodriguez, kidnapping victim questioned  —  Norberto Susini has told people that he was Alex Rodriguez's nephew for years - a familial link that was called into question after Susini was abducted Wednesday.  —  Susini allegedly was held hostage by two men after a deal to sell a Lamborghini went bad.

Preview: Cardinals vs. Cincinnati  —  • Interim Cincinnati manager Jim Riggleman, who took over from Bryan Price Thursday, is a former Cards farmhand, minor league manager, big-league coach and director of player development.  He has managed with San Diego, the Cubs …

Robertson 'doesn't blink' in jam to lift Yanks over Jays  —  Toronto Blue Jays' Teoscar Hernandez, left, scores on a base hit by Curtis Granderson as New York Yankees pitcher David Robertson (30) look to back up a throw home during the eighth inning of a baseball game Thursday, April 19, 2018, in New York.

Who's hot (Gyorko), who's not (Fowler) for Cards  —  TRENDING UP  —  Jedd Gyorko, INF: He reached base four times Thursday with two singles and two walks in the 8-5 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.  While Gyorko is still scraping off some fielding rust after his stint on the disabled list …

The case for 154 games, Fenway's quest and MLB's next big thing  —  Baseball needs to shorten the regular-season schedule.  —  Pausing.  —  Pausing.  —  OK, I guess I can't just leave it at that because that declarative statement is far from self-evident.  Allow me to explain.

Mariners, Rangers aim to end recent losing trend  —  American League West rivals Texas and Seattle will square off for the initial time in the 2018 season Friday at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, with both teams heading into in the opener of a three-game set after losses.

Reliever Victor Arano's legendary uncle Ramon would be proud of him  —  With each recorded out, the legend of Victor Arano grows.  It sprouted a little more Thursday night when the 23-year-old reliever from Veracruz, Mexico, worked another perfect inning, closing out a 7-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates with a strikeout of Josh Bell.